Music you've never heard….'til now! A blog of rare, hardly-heard or remembered pop, hip-hop, R&B, freestyle and dance music from the 80s and 90s. From one-hit wonders to no-hit wonders, this blog has it all!!

Friday, October 31, 2008

April (born April Kelly) is a former freestyle\dancer from the late 80's\early 90's. As a child, she performed in a few off-Broadway productions and shows throughout the New York area.

During high school, April recorded a demo for a producer which caught the attention of the Metropolitan Recording Corporation record label.

In 1987, she released her first single, "Special Love" which didn't make the Billboard music charts at all.

In 1989, April released her second single, "Right on Time" which didn't appear to make the Billboard charts at all.

In 1990, April released her third single, "Someone to Hold" which peaked at #50 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart.

A year later, April released her debut album, "Magical" which didn't appear to make the Billboard 200 chart.

The fourth single, "You're the One For Me" managed to peak at #55 on Billboard's Hot 100 Airplay chart.

Two more singles: "Losing My Heart Over You" and "Bring Back the Lover" were released, but didn't make the charts. April toured the country for 3 years. In 1993, April started a band called Band of Gold.

These days, April and the band continues to perform at various events. She also continues to be active in the music business as a songwriter, music producer, does vocal recording & is skilled as a Pro Tools session engineer.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Sorry I'm late updating the blog, but I have been real busy looking up more information for my blog. I promise that I will try to update the blog as much as I can and keep viewing my previous entries. Feel free to leave some of those great, positive messages that I've been receiving on my blog.

FYI, I am almost close to my 100th post. I don't know what will be the lucky number 100th post on this blog, but I will keep you all posted on this.

Nu Shooz was a dance music group consisting of husband & wife duo, John Smith and Valerie Day from Portland, Oregon which formed in 1979. The original band consisted of four members, but by 1980, it expanded to 12 members including 4 horns and 3 backup singers known as the I-Lets.

In 1981, Nu Shooz was down to 9 members and a year later, they released the album, "Can't Turn it Off" on Nebula Circle Records, which didn't appear to make much impact on the charts. By 1983, Valerie became the lead singer of Nu Shooz.

In April of 1985, they recorded the 5-song EP, "Tha's Right" and acting on a dare from local music writer, Gary Bryan of Portland, Oregon radio station, KKRZ, he put their song, "I Can't Wait" on the radio and it received strong and immediate attention.

By the end of the year, "I Can't Wait" became a regional hit, but when the song was remixed by Dutch DJ Pieder Slaghuis, the song's success took off, Atlantic Records signed Nu Shooz to the label in January 1986 and released the single a month later.

The song also topped the charts in Canada for a week in July of 1986 and was also successful in the U.K., Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Italy, Ireland, Austria, and France.

In May of that same year, Nu Shooz released their first album on a major record label, "Poolside" which peaked at #27 on the Billboard 200 and #18 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart.

The follow-up single, "Point of No Return" peaked at #28 on the Billboard Hot 100, #36 on Billboard's Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 15 weeks, and topped Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart for a week in September of 1986.

The song was also moderately successful in Canada, Switzerland, New Zealand, and the U.K., where it peaked at #48 on the U.K. Singles chart.

The last single from the album, "Don't Let Me Be the One" peaked at #39 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.

"Poolside" was certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of over 500,000 units and Nu Shooz was nominated for a Grammy in 1987 for "Best New Artist."

In 1988, Nu Shooz released their second album, "Told U So" which peaked at #93 on the Billboard 200 and #49 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart.

The first single, "Should I Say Yes?" peaked at #42 on the Billboard Hot 100, #8 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart, and #17 on Billboard's Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 14 weeks.

The follow-up single from the album, "Are You Lookin' For Somebody Nu" peaked at #2 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart and #13 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart.

In 1992, Nu Shooz released the single, "Time Will Tell" which was supposed to be from their third album on Atlantic Records, "Eat & Run," but the album ended up being shelved.

Nu Shooz was dropped from Atlantic Records and John disbanded the group stating that it wasn't fun anymore. After that, it seemed as if Nu Shooz faded into obscurity. During the late 90s, Valerie was a part of the Woody Hite Big Band. In 2005, she recorded duets with pianist Tom Grant.

In 2006, Nu Shooz recorded a chamber-jazz version of "I Can't Wait" and released the single, "I Can't Wait-Unplugged." A year later, John and Valerie reformed the group as the Nu Shooz Orchestra.

In 2010, they released a new album, "Pandora's Box" along with a music video entitled "Spy Vs. Spy."

In 2012, Nu Shooz released their latest album, "Kung Pao Kitchen" which is available on CD Baby, Amazon.com, and iTunes.

In addition to music, John Smith dabbles in art and literature. Since the '90s, he has written music for various commercials and scored many independent films. He is also a frequent musical contributor to a dance company called BodyVox.

John is also working on a graphic novel series, "Evolution: The Mutant Chronicles" with his son Malcolm.

Valerie Day is working on a multimedia project with jazz pianist, Darrell Grant called "Brain Chemistry For Lovers." These days, Nu Shooz continues to perform.